Psi Chi Distinguished Lecturer
Conference: Psi Chi Midwestern Regional Convention Program (2008)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
12:30 – 1:30
Wabash Parlor
“I felt less because I was different…Now I’m proud for being Brown”: Embracing Cultural Diversity in TherapyJosé Rubén Parra-CardonaBrief Biographical Sketch
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Assistant Professor in the program of marriage and family therapy at Michigan State University. Dr. Parra-Cardona completed his dissertation on adolescent fathers of Mexican origin by designing, implementing, and evaluating a parenting program especially designed for this population. As a result of this study, Dr. Parra-Cardona was awarded a national dissertation award by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT). Dr. Parra-Cardona is currently involved in research focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for Latino populations. He collaborates with researchers from the Oregon Social Learning Center (i.e., OSLC) in the cultural adaptation of an intervention known as Parent Management Training Oregon (i.e, PMTO), which is an intervention developed with NIH funding and that has proven to be efficacious in the prevention of substance and delinquency among children and youth. Dr. Parra-Cardona collaborates with an international research team in carrying out this line of applied research in the U.S. and Mexico. Dr. Parra-Cardona also conducts research on Latino men referred to batterer treatment programs, in an effort to refine the cultural relevance of these interventions. Dr. Parra-Cardona has a solid background in qualitative methodologies. He serves on the editorial boards of three leading journals in the fields of family therapy and family studies (i.e., Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Family Process, and Family Relations). Dr. Parra-Cardona’s clinical experience has included the provision of services to street kids engaged in drug trafficking and prostitution, child and adult victims of sexual abuse and violence, as well as federal adult probationers convicted for drug trafficking. He completed his doctoral internship serving in a community based program for ethnic minority youth and families involved in the justice system. He is currently affiliated with the program Alternatives to Domestic Aggression (ADA) of Washtenaw County Catholic Social Services in Michigan and co-facilitates group treatment for perpetrators of violence against women. Dr. Parra-Cardona has published in the areas of cultural competence in clinical services, cultural identity, life experiences of Latino adult and teen parents, and cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions.